Betsy and Iya

Betsy and Iya Fashion jewelry, all designed and made onsite. Plus clothing, gifts, & home goods.

All beautiful things made by people who care, not products made oceans apart from their designers.

46 today. Yoooooooo, the view. That view. šŸŽˆThat number will sound so old to some people, and I get it. I used to think t...
09/10/2026

46 today. Yoooooooo, the view. That view. šŸŽˆ

That number will sound so old to some people, and I get it. I used to think the same thing. But I’m here to report that it feels absolutely nothing like I thought it would.

I feel younger in some ways than I did at 30. Freer. More myself. Life is deeper now. My friendships have history (and somehow I continue to meet and make new incredible friends on the regular!!). My work has history. I know myself better. I have more compassion, more clarity, and a much better idea of who and what I want around me.

My body has changed, sure. But even those changes feel different from this side of them. They’re marks of time passing. Of perseverance. Of sustaining a life and a whole lot of laughter.

I’m 46 today and 27 at heart forever—the age I was when I started this business. I’m still endlessly curious. Still making things. Still changing my mind. Still wanting to make something I’ve never made before. Still laughing so hard I regularly lose control of my entire face. (Sound on for that vid, y’all).

So for anyone younger who is quietly terrified that getting older means becoming less interesting, less relevant, less you: nah.

46 feels pretty effing alive. ā¤ļø

Yesterday, this walked into my custom meeting room. 😭Her late grandmother was a lapidary artist and cut all of these sto...
09/09/2026

Yesterday, this walked into my custom meeting room. 😭

Her late grandmother was a lapidary artist and cut all of these stones herself. Now I get to figure out what some of them want to become.

This is one of my favorite parts of my job.

To be continued. ā¤ļø

People ask me where inspiration comes from, and I never quite know how to answer and make sense at the same time. It’s a...
09/03/2026

People ask me where inspiration comes from, and I never quite know how to answer and make sense at the same time. It’s almost never: I saw this shape, so I made that jewelry. It’s more like this. I look. I listen. I notice. I collect things without knowing why. Some of it comes back out tomorrow, some years later, some maybe never.

I think the work is partly just staying awake to what makes you look twice.

Here’s some of what’s going in right now. ā¤ļø

Hello from Amsterdam!! šŸ‘‹ This is an Instagram takeover by me, Betsy, on our own Instagram. šŸ˜‚ Hope you enjoy.When my Dutc...
09/01/2026

Hello from Amsterdam!! šŸ‘‹ This is an Instagram takeover by me, Betsy, on our own Instagram. šŸ˜‚ Hope you enjoy.

When my Dutch friend invited us to her milestone birthday party in Amsterdam, I don’t think she expected us all to say yes—but we did. And it arrived at exactly the right moment for me. I needed a rereset. New inspiration. Reconnection. A reminder of a certain time in my life—and maybe of a wilder version of myself I haven’t spent enough time with lately.

Some context: in the early aughts, a young Betsy drove across the country, sight unseen, to a tiny town in northern California for a wildly niche MFA program in physical theatre. Think: improv, pratfalls, clowning, making theatre from nothing, extreme vulnerability, and doing things that terrified me.

And then I met my people: Helga from Denmark, Lisa from Sweden, and Suzanne from the Netherlands. We were in our 20s, far from home, trying to figure out who we were.

Those years—and these women—changed me. They taught me about creativity, bravery, making, friendship, failure, and trusting myself. Looking back, I can see a remarkably straight line between what I was learning then and the work I do today, even though the medium is different.

We haven’t been together in 9 years. And isn’t it strange and magical what happens to time when you’re reunited with people who knew you while you were still becoming yourself? Within minutes we were šŸ˜‚ until we 😭.

I came here for them. But I think I also came here, without quite knowing it, to remember where I came from.

These days, I’m a jewelry designer creating hundreds of pieces a year, I’m proud of what we’ve built, and yet I still question myself sometimes. Am I still making interesting things? Am I still in the right place?

Maybe that’s part of being a creative person forever.

So while I’m here, I want to show you what I’m looking at. What I’m thinking about. Where inspiration comes from. Maybe some things I’ve forgotten and some I don’t know I’m looking for yet.

We’ll see what happens.

My name is Betsy. I’m a jewelry designer, a founder, a big-heart owner… and yes, I’m also a clown.

So here we are. As always, love you. ā¤ļø

Hello from Amsterdam!! šŸ‘‹ This is an Instagram takeover by me, Betsy, on our own Instagram. šŸ˜‚ Hope you enjoy.When my Dutc...
09/01/2026

Hello from Amsterdam!! šŸ‘‹ This is an Instagram takeover by me, Betsy, on our own Instagram. šŸ˜‚ Hope you enjoy.

When my Dutch friend invited us to her milestone birthday party in Amsterdam, I don’t think she expected us all to say yes—but we did. And it arrived at exactly the right moment for me. I needed a reset. New inspiration. Reconnection. A reminder of a certain time in my life—and maybe of a wilder version of myself I haven’t spent enough time with lately.

Some context: in the early aughts, a young Betsy drove across the country, sight unseen, to a tiny town in northern California for a wildly niche MFA program in physical theatre. Think: improv, pratfalls, clowning, making theatre from nothing, extreme vulnerability, and doing things that terrified me.

And then I met my people: Helga from Denmark, Lisa from Sweden, and Suzanne from the Netherlands. We were in our 20s, far from home, trying to figure out who we were.

Those years—and these women—changed me. They taught me about creativity, bravery, making, friendship, failure, and trusting myself. Looking back, I can see a remarkably straight line between what I was learning then and the work I do today, even though the medium is different.

We haven’t been together in 9 years. And isn’t it strange and magical what happens to time when you’re reunited with people who knew you while you were still becoming yourself? Within minutes we were šŸ˜‚ until we 😭.

I came here for them. But I think I also came here, without quite knowing it, to remember where I came from.

These days, I’m a jewelry designer creating hundreds of pieces a year, I’m proud of what we’ve built, and yet I still question myself sometimes. Am I still making interesting things? Am I still in the right place?

Maybe that’s part of being a creative person forever.

So while I’m here, I want to show you what I’m looking at. What I’m thinking about. Where inspiration comes from. Maybe some things I’ve forgotten and some I don’t know I’m looking for yet.

We’ll see what happens.

My name is Betsy. I’m a jewelry designer, a founder, a big-heart owner… and yes, I’m also a clown.

So here we are. As always, love you. ā¤ļø

There are love stories we get to help tell. This one, we got to live alongside. ā¤ļøBarrie has spent more than a decade at...
08/27/2026

There are love stories we get to help tell. This one, we got to live alongside. ā¤ļø

Barrie has spent more than a decade at Betsy & Iya helping people turn their stories into custom jewelry. Then, after 19 years with her high school sweetheart, Taylor, it was finally her turn.

Betsy designed their rings. Barrie dusted off her tools and helped make them herself. And because apparently designing the rings wasn’t enough responsibility for one wedding, Betsy officiated, too.Ā 

Of course, that’s only part of the story. There’s also a correctly spelled name, a giant bag of candy, BeyoncĆ©, a ā€œdigestive stroll,ā€ and a proposal involving leftover french fries.

Read Barrie & Taylor’s Brilliant Cuts story at the link in bio.Ā 

Photographer and Videographer: Luis + Nicole | SoCal Wedding Photo + Video
Florals: Oregon Wedding Florist | Caroline Reusen
Catering: White Pepper
Venue: The Griffin House
Hair and Makeup: PNW Hair & Makeup Team
Wedding Planner: Jaime | Oregon & SoCal Wedding Planner

08/24/2026

This is our kind of BTS 🤣 the Betsy Bloopers!

Rings for men. Rings for women. Rings for—Actually, how about just rings?
08/17/2026

Rings for men. Rings for women. Rings for—
Actually, how about just rings?

She isn’t exactly low-profile.Bold color, loud in the best way, and pretty incapable of minding her own business. The ne...
04/19/2026

She isn’t exactly low-profile.

Bold color, loud in the best way, and pretty incapable of minding her own business. The necklace, too. Throw her on with the basics or pile on more color and let things get a little out of hand. Subtle was never really part of the plan.Ā 

Come see her in-store.

Address

1777 Northwest 24th Avenue
Portland, OR
97210

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 6pm
Tuesday 11am - 6pm
Wednesday 11am - 6pm
Thursday 11am - 6pm
Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 6pm

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